For most of the Boston Marathon, Emma Bates ran in the lead pack.
She ran with the major marathon champion, Lonah Salpeter. She ran with the former half-marathon world-record holder, Ababel Yeshaneh. And she ran with the two-time Olympic medalist Hellen Obiri, who would eventually sprint away on Monday to win her first marathon.
Soon after Obiri won, though, Bates crossed the line in fifth place, the best finish by an American woman. Bates, a native of Elk River, Minn., stayed in contention until the final mile and completed the course in 2 hours, 22 minutes and 10 seconds, a personal best by more than one minute.
Afterward, Bates said that she didn’t expect to be in front so late. Her coach, she said, had advised her to focus on staying in the chase pack, behind the top women, and then pounce toward the end.
“But I just felt so good the entire time,” Bates said. “And I got to Mile 20 and was still in the lead, and I just looked at my coach, who was at Mile 20, and I was like, ‘I guess I’m in front,’ and so he said, ‘Just go for it, go for it.’”
Bates, 30, who finished second in Chicago in 2021, secured a qualifying time for the 2024 Paris Olympics — and bolstered her status as a top contender for next February’s trials.
The top American male finisher was…
